Nuclear fortification

At the close of World War II most military theorists considered that permanent fortifications of the type previously employed were economically impracticable in view of their vulnerability to the incredible power of nuclear explosives and the methods, such as vertical envelopment from the air, that might be employed to reduce them. Important exceptions to this generalization were the reinforced concrete and deep tunnels used to protect strategic-missile launch facilities. The United States, the former Soviet Union, and (to a lesser degree) France, Great Britain, Israel, and China invested heavily in such defensive works. Probably the most important and ... (100 of 2,571 words)